Manufacturer

Description

Ariva is a dissolvable tobacco tablet shaped like a tic-tac; the tablets contains 1.5 grams of nicotine which is absorbed into the blood by placing the tablet in between the upper gum and cheek. Ariva is smokeless, spitless and available in wintergreen and java flavors. Even though Ariva is shaped, and packaged like a candy, the product is marketed as a smoking cessation product.

Claims

Ariva is an odor-free, mess-free, spit-free, smoke-free, tobacco product that you can use anywhere discreetly.[1]

Star Scientific INC. has developed up a non-chemical tobacco curing technology, StarCured™, that interferes with the formation of tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) that occurs in traditional curing methods. We market dissolvable hard smokeless tobacco products made with tobacco that is 100% Virginia StarCured® tobacco, with TSNA levels that we believe are the lowest anywhere in the world.[1]

Product Design Features

Composed of compressed, powdered Virginia “StarCured” tobacco

Size and shape of a small lozenge

Ariva cigaletts are designed to dissolve in the mouth without chewing or spitting

Nicotine in Ariva is absorbed into the bloodstream quickly, in a manner similar to smoking or snuff use

Product Constituents: Free nicotine 24.4 mg/g; Total TSNA 0.019 mg/g

Each Ariva piece is refered to as a “cigalett” or compressed, powdered tobacco bit mixed with eucalyptus and mint flavorings. Each “cigalett” contains about 1 mg of nicotine which is absorbed quickly and easily into the bloodstream in a manner similar to the absorption of nicotine after smoking or using snuff. A cigalett is roughly the same size and shape of a small piece of candy; it is designed to dissolve in the mouth and leave no unpleasant residue. Each piece of Ariva is cream-colored and contains the imprint of a tobacco leaf. The Ariva website claims that their product contains only 100 percent “Virginia StarCured” tobacco and does not contain most of the other toxic ingredients found in traditional cigarettes. Star Scientific claims that “Virginia StarCured” tobacco is an especially high quality, low-toxin product. It is cured in a non-chemical process that interferes with TSNAs formation, thus minimizing the carcinogenic compound content of the tobacco. The corporate mission of Star Scientific is “centered on reducing toxins in
tobacco so that adult consumers can have access to products that expose them to sharply reduced toxin levels...”
Independent research, comparing Ariva to other PREPs, has shown Ariva to have low TSNA levels (0.19 μg/g wet weight), compared with Exalt (3.1-3.7 μg/g wet weight). Ariva also had lower levels of carcinogens, NNN and NNK, compared with Stonewall (Stepanov, et al. 2006).[1]

Market Testing

By 2003, Ariva was available in more than 30,000 stores throughout the U.S., including Rite Aid, CVS, and Eckerd

Promotion

Star Scientific, the company that created Ariva, is now owned by RAI. The product’s website, www.goariva.com, is a sleek, well-designed source, with an ocean and sky background resembling the Ariva packaging. The site contains a store locator, allowing users to easily access contact information for stores where Ariva can be purchased. There is also a section that mentions how 40 percent of American smokers are looking to quit smoking, and suggests that Ariva could be part of
the solution to that problem. Some Ariva ads target retail owners who could possibly be interested in selling Ariva in their stores.[1]

Advertising and Selling Messages

Slogan: Ariva; “When you can’t smoke”

Slogan: “New Tobacco Category! Breakthrough Product!”

Claim: “StarCured inside”

Packaging

Ariva is offered in child-resistant blister packs of 20 cigaletts. The foil backing of the blister pack is adorned with the Ariva logo and the slogan “when you can’t smoke.” The blister packs are packaged within a cardboard box, similar in size to traditional gum packages. The image
on the outer box is a sky and ocean scene with the Ariva brand name in large lettering in the middle. The outer box displays the “underage sale prohibited“ warning, the “When You Can’t Smoke” slogan, and a reference to the use of “Virginia StarCured” tobacco in the phrase “Virginia’s finest.” The outer box also contains a warning that states, “There are no safe tobacco products. Quitting or not starting is your best option.”[1]